Alright, after that fun little break, it's back to the Christmas project. It's had some interesting deveolpments this past week. Well, interesting for me, maybe not for you.

I wish I could give everyone a piece of my heart. That you could all feel the same things I feel while doing this project. Sure, you can read this and you can see what I'm doing, and I do my best to describe my feelings, but it really doesn't give you a shadow of a glymps into what really happens.

This week I've been more focused on serving others. Maybe not that silent service (though, I have done some of that as well), but still, giving of myself freely and caringly.

One experience I had this week was with a young man at work. I would like to state for the record and for those who know me, yes, I do sort of like him, but that is not the reason for this service. I have a friend at work, and the other day he was working overtime to try and get a project done for an upcoming meeting. He was working late, and was tired of being at work (he told me so). So, I decided I was going to take him some ice cream to cheer him up. Little did I know how much this simple act of service would do for him. I ended up helping him with a project and doing what I was able to do so he could get out of the office as soon as possible, besides bringing him a little treat and some company. I noticed instantly that our friendship had grown, even a little bit. I, by giving service, got a great service and a stronger friend. There are many great blessings in doing service.

I'm not going to say all the things I did, because that's being boastful, and I don't want to do that. That's another reason I wish all of you could have a piece of my heart. That you could feel as I feel.

That's all for today. I'm cold and so I'm going to curl up in my little bed with a good book.

Shout out goes to this friend of mine. He works so hard and really is an essential key to the company. I don't think he gets appreciated enough. I've been trying to do my share, but I dunno if it's really getting through to him. Oh well, I'll keep trying.

Next time will be another adventure I'm sure! Until then, Happy Hot Chocolate Drinking!

Sunday, December 10, 2006

So- I realize I haven't been keeping my christmas project updated so much....but lets take a little break for a second here, shall we? I was just looking over some old pictures from my first sememster at school, and thought I'd share them...especially with thos who were there or know those that were there. I'll add captions.

We had some fun with Photoshop... Or rather Eric Did. Why he's the flash and not superman...I dunno. And yes, that is Sam in the background.

We were cooking; Eric felt the need to defend himself. Yes, that is a steel colonder on his head.

And here we have Superdave...or The Dave from the DEEP!

Look how long my hair was! Insane, huh?

I dyed Sam's hair the week of finals. TR has some blue in his hair too, but you can't really tell. Two thumbs up anyway.

Ahh, the council o' justice. Man, what Eric can do with photoshop amazes me. Not this piece in particular, but still....man.

SWEEDIE!! Nuff Said.

Super Dave Finally Gets Some Action!

This is Eric's wall. Are you surprised? It looks really cool though, doesn't it?

Yes, those are chopsticks up his nose! He was always doing crazy stuff like this.

The "Smellville" cast according to Eric. Annette O'Toole as Martha, Dave as Johnathan, Eric as Clark (Duh), Kristen as Lana, TR as Lex, Me as Chloe (this picture was the inspiration for my haircut this year), and Sam Jones III as Pete. Eric wanted to make Samo Pete, but he's kinda...black.

And there you have it. There were lots more than this, but those were really the highlights of my folder of pictures of my first semester of college. Keep in mind, I got my camera for my birthday in October and the semeter ended in the beginning of December. And sometimes I forgot that I had my camera. Oh goodness. It was like this all the time. Most of these were taken on or close to the same day. Good times.

Shout out goes to my boys. I miss you kids. At least I'll always have the good times we shared. You're awesome!!

Next time....um...I dunno what next time will bring. Have a good night!!

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Alright, Time for Mary.

Mary was just your typical girl. She liked to have fun, she had a beautiful smile. She was kind, serving, everything you would expect from a faithful loving young woman. She was espoused to a young man who was just as good. They loved each other, and things were just working out right.

One day Mary was asked to go draw some water from the well. Being the obedient woman she was, she did so right away. However, while at the well something amazing happened.

We all know the story. It's the one most of the world thinks about all the year through. The angel appears to Mary, a virgin, and tells her she's going to have a son. The son of God. She will call his name Jesus for he will save his people.

However, the angel says something to Mary before all that. He knows that this will be hard for her to hear, so he reassures her before he declares anything that she is loved. She is chosen among women, highly favored, and loved by her Heavenly Father. Only after this does he tell her about the blessings and the child she is going to bear.

Now one thing y'all should know about this time. If a woman, especially an espoused one, was found pregnant before she was married her father had two options: 1- Disown her and hide her away, never to be seen from her disgrace, and never to be in touch with her family again. Almost like any record of her is wiped off the face of the earth. or 2- Her father would take her to door of his house where the people of her village would stone her to death. Both highly disgraceful, and both very painful for both parties.

Mary knew this. She had to. Yet when she was presented with this opportunity, she fell to her knees, bowed her head and said "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; Be it unto me according to thy word." She didn't hesitate. She knew that if this was from God then she would be protected and everything would work out for the best. She was willing to give up her very life for something she knew was from God. Mary had to have an extreme ammount of faith.

Up until this point Mary was just another girl. She had hopes, she had dreams. She probably had big plans for her life. She had girlfriends she would stay up late with and giggle about funny things that had happened to them. They would talk about the wife Mary was going to be and the husband Joseph would be. She had concerns. She cried, she laughed, she loved. She wasn't too different from me or you. But n this second, the second she uttered the phrase "Be it unto me according to they word" every little thing changed in her life. Everything.


This Christmas project is coming along nicely. I'm really connecting with the characters I had come to know, but they were always just scripture characters. Now they're becoming real people to me. It's amazing. You should try it sometime.

Next time- Joseph.

Have a good day y'all!!

Thursday, November 30, 2006

It's a good thing I wrote down my project yesterday cause last night I started getting it going.

I read Luke 1:1-20 last night. We all know the story. Zacharias and Elizabeth can't have a baby. Zacharias goes to the temple to do his temple work, and Gabriel visits him, telling him that Elizabeth will bear a child. Zacharias questions, and becomes dumb and deaf for his lack of faith.

That's the jist of it. But last night I really tried to get past just the story and delve. Who was Zacharias? Who was Elizabeth? What was their relationship?

They were both EXTREMELY good people. They kept every part of the commandments without hesitation. They loved each other. They spent their days together. They were the model parents, only without children.

It's no conincedence that Zacharias was chosen to be working at the temple that particular day. Though, when the angel Gabriel appeared to him, he was frightened. It makes sense that the angel of the Lord would appear in His house, but Zacharias was still afraid. Gabriel told him not to fear. He was sent of the Lord and brought him good tidings. Notice how it's always good tidings from the Lord for those who are doing right? Gabriel tells Zacharias all the great and wonderful things his child, John the Baptist, will do. Zacharias and Elizabeth are good, worthy people. The perfect role models for the man who will prepair many of the people for Christ.

Zacharias doesn't believe Gabriel because of his and Elizabeth's ages. In the Liken the Scriptures series (click the link. You can thank me later), they have the First Christmas as seen through the eyes of Amelia. In this particular scene, there is a dialouge between Zacharias (Played by my cute uncle, Ken Eklof) and Gabriel (Beautifully portraid by Daniel Beck). In that dialouge Zacharias says that Gabriel must have mistaken him for a much younger priest named Zachariah who's wife's name is Mary Beth. Then Gabriel firmly but lovingly tells Zacharias that the message was meant for him, not Zachariah who's wife is Mary Beth. I never really thought about that until now. It was always just a funny little tiddy. But wheather Dennis Agle meant to or not, he put a deeper meaning in that silly bit of dialouge. To me that says that God really does know all of us by name, even those who have names as close as Zacharias and Zachariah. Only one small letter apart, but still two individuals. That's amazing to me.

Well, what's going on with Elizabeth? A bit later in the story ( I haven't gotten to that part in my reading yet, but we all know what happens) it plays out in my mind like this:

Zacharias is lead home, deaf and dumb. Elizabeth runs to the door, worried for her aging husband. He gives her a gentle kiss, and looks her in the eyes, telling his whole experience with just one look. Instantly Elizabeth's eyes fill with tears, as Zacharias lightly touches her now fruitful womb, and she nods.

Though this tender scene may have just been an offspring of movie magic, I can see it really happening. Elizabeth knew. She knew about the baby, as most mothers do when they have concieved a child. There's just something different. She was faithful, and most likely greatful for the chance. I think an angel may have appeared to her as well, and Elizabeth probably fell to her knees in gratitude.

Elizabeth was a wonderful woman, one that sometimes get passed over at Christmas, one who we should strive to be like. There are many attributes of different women in the Gospel and in the church that we should try to aquire. Elizabeth encompases a lot of them. Her outstanding faith, and the way she follows the commandments even though it seems as if she would never have the blessing of motherhood. She was unwaivering, and was blessed for it.

Next time- Mary- In the beginning.

That's all for now folks! Have a wonderful day! Get out and enjoy that snow if you have some! As for me, I'm gonna cuddle back up in my bed. It's too cold out in the snow. When I find my Navy P coat downstairs I'll go out and play. Until next time!

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Obviously I didn't get around to typing out my project last night. I'm not procrastinating, I'm just...Well, I'm not procrastinating. In fact, I think I'll do it right now.


Rachel's Christmas Project 2006-

Basis: I believe that too many people are forgetting the true meaning of Christmas and focusing mostly on Santa and what they're going to give and get. I'm putting a nix on that in my own life, and focusing more on Christ.

Action: I'm thinking more about the events surrounding the birth of Christ and what they mean to me. I'm also taking a look at Jesus the babe, the boy, and the man. I also feel I'm going to be getting more familiar with the atonement and it's meaning as well. Though I'm not encouraging presents or if one has to be given, I'm not encouraging presents that don't direct my thoughts towards Christ, I will be giving gifts, but only to a select few, and those I have thoughtfully chosen. It's not because I don't love the rest of you or them or whatever, but it's just because that's something I feel I need to do.

Another thing that I'm going to try to do to not only strenghten the spirit in my home and my life, but also to help prepair me for my mission (more on that later), is this: I'm going to find one thing to do of service a day outside of myself. What this means to me is finding something, it doesn't have to be big, but it can be, and doing it for someone else. I'm going to clean my room for myself, but maybe I'll do the dishes before my mom asks me to, just cause. Or maybe I'll opt to stay home with mor-far so my mom doesn't have anxiety, and actually be there with him. Get him lunch and his medicine. Take Jen's kids on a field trip so she can rest. Or maybe I'll find something to do for a total stranger. Just something based outside of me. Not for me, but by me for someone else. After all, Christ did that with his whole life. He served and never complained. He did those things that no one else would want to. He washed his diciples' feet. He healed the sick. He made the blind see. He mourned with those who mourned. Comforted those who stood in need of comfort. He was the perfect example, and I feel that this season I need to follow that example.

So there you have the shell of it. I still haven't really started. I need to get going on that, but for now, I'm tired, and depressed. I know that isn't a good excuse, and doing the things which I have just described will help with both ailments, but right now... I just want to be tired and depressed. Tomorrow will be a better day. I'll start tomorrow.

Monday, November 27, 2006

Obviously I haven't gotten around to writing my project down just yet, and to be quite honest, I have a few kinks in it to sort out. I'm really going to work on that tomorrow and my goal is to have a finished project articulately designed and written out for all of you to follow along with. So far, the project has still to get underway, and will be doing so shortly if not tomorrow. So there ya go. As of now, I'm still not ready to write it here, AAAAND I wanna go play WoW. That's the skinny. Have a good night!

Shout out goes to all those working retail this weekend. I'm sure it was absolute horror, and I'm glad I'm not them! Good work though!

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Today's the big day, but later. I'm tired, and I'm still digesting Thanksgiving day Turkey. Mmm...it was so good. So, after a nights rest, and some cleaning up, I'll post my Project. Don't worry...You'll all know soon enough. It's really not all that hyped up, and you'll probably think it's lame, but oh well. It's not going to affect you, is it? Probably not.

So...Shout out goes to my wonderful mom. She's so totally awesome it's hard to describe. She does so much for all of us, and I'm thankful for her. Anyway- That's all for now folks! Night!

Friday, November 24, 2006

So- November 24th starts Rachel's Christmas project. Just something I'm doing to better myself. If you wanna keep up with it, I'm going to be journaling my experience here, so keep checking back. Just so you know. I'll explain more later what it's actually about, but as of now, I'm focused on Thanksgiving and what it means to me. None of this jumping the gun to Christmas. I'll explain my project AFTER Thanksgiving. Just so you know, I may change my whole outlook on life...or Christmas anyway.

Saturday, November 18, 2006

Which is better: The smell after a rain storm or Being all dressed up with somewhere to go?

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Do you ever have those days where you're just not quite sure what to think or even if you should at all? Today has been one of those days. Don't ask me why, because I'm not quite sure. That sounds weird huh? I know, it is weird, but that's just how I feel today. So really, this blog entry has no point, and that's okay right? Isn't that what blogs are all about? Yeah, that's what I thought. Uh!

Yeah so...the only problem with a pointless not quite sure what to think blog is that I don't really have anything to say. Wow...that's too bad idnit?

Shout out time I guess... Shout out goes to...Maria first. It's her reception tonight. I'm way excited for her, though at the same time, it is really weird that she's married. REALLY weird. Second shout out goes to my sister Sarah. She did my hair so cute today! I'm a bride's maid at Maria's reception, so I had to have cute hair, and Sarah is my resident hair stylist, so it all fits great. Third and last, but not least, shout out goes to Mom. She is currently sewing my bride's maid dress right now. She tries so hard, even if it is frustrating at times.

Well that's it for today folks! Keep off drugs, and we'll see ya next time!

Saturday, August 12, 2006